Once a self-described risk taker, Chris Cina, a veteran Denver chef who’s slung sauté pans behind the line of numerous local restaurants — most recently, Hideaway Steakhouse, where he was pushed out — now admits that taking too many chances can often lead to unsavory consequences. “Every job I’ve taken…
When Dina Berta made the jump from writing about restaurants to running a restaurant, she had one insight that helped prepare her for the road ahead: “I knew a little about the industry, and I knew it was a lot of work, but also a lot of fun,” she says…
While 2011 may have been the year of the small brewery in metro Denver — which has so far toasted the arrival of six new ones — 2012 may be even bigger. Black Shirt Brewing, 3719 Walnut Street, and Prost Brewing, 2540 19th Street, have both announced plans to open…
Pete Marczyk and Barbara Macfarlane do not leave their work behind when they leave Marczyk Fine Foods and head for their great old Denver house with the big, new kitchen. They often bring some of their market’s choicest ingredients home with them and cook up a feast. Right, so turkey…
Beginning on Friday, November 11 and continuing through Saturday, November 19, a formidable list of more than forty of Boulder’s best restaurants — spots like Pizzeria Basta, Pizzeria Locale, The Kitchen, The Empire Lounge and Restaurant in Louisville and Terroir in Longmont — are offering diners a chance to nab…
Blind tastings: They’re not just for sommeliers anymore. It’s true. A significant part of becoming an advanced level sommelier involves learning to identify wines the hard way — by relying 100 percent on the wine’s appearance in the glass, smell and taste. Given that you are probably not, nor are…
Hot soup on a cool, autumn day equals one of my favorite lunches. Guess where I’m eating? Special bonus: Anyone who gives the first correct answer to the week’s Where am I drinking/eating posts is entered into a pool — and every Monday, we select one lucky winner who’ll receive…
It may be winter, but the Cherry Kriek is flowing fast at Strange Brewing, which is finally able to make enough of the taphouse favorite to supply a few bars, including the Rackhouse Pub, Ale House at Amato’s and Freshcraft, where it goes on tap this weekend. Strange Brewing replaced…
Patrick Horvat Venue 3609 West 32nd Avenue 303-477-0477 www.venuebistro.com This is part one of my interview with Patrick Horvat, executive chef of Venue. Most chefs are quirky — or at least have quirks — and Patrick Horvat, the executive chef of Venue, is no exception. Horvat is obsessed with argyle…
The story of My Smart Snacker begins with a man eating out of a portable dog bowl. The man is Brighton resident Loren “Sam” Samuelson, whose sister invented the To Go Bowl, a water bowl for pets that fits into a cup holder; Samuelson would fill the bowl with snacks…
Jim Pittenger, aka Biker Jim, already had an eponymous brick-and-mortar restaurant on Larimer Street, along with gourmet hot dog carts on the 16th Street Mall and at the Auraria campus. Now he’s added a food truck to his sausage empire, and it won’t be long before he rolls the business…
It’s that time of year again, when the James Beard Foundation beckons the public fooderati to cast their nominations for the 2012 James Beard Awards, the “country’s most coveted honor for chefs; food and beverage professionals; broadcast media, journalists, and authors working on food; and restaurant architects and designers.”…
Frank and Dina Berta didn’t set out to open a restaurant. Instead, they were exploring the idea of a food truck, and searching out locations for a commercial kitchen that would serve as their commissary. But then they found the storefront in the Whittier neighborhood where the Far East Restaurant…
It will soon be Thanksgiving, the yearly occasion where we can stuff ourselves until we surrender and then wallow on the couch for a few hours. But, as we all know, not everyone has fond memories of the holiday. In fact, just about every Thanksgiving feast with my family included…
I walked into In Season Local Market on a sunny, brisk, fall afternoon and was pleased to see a basket filled to the brim with delicious looking apples. An ever-present snack in my house and a frequent accoutrement to a plate of cheese, apples are my favorite fruit. But until…
New Saigon, a stalwart Vietnamese restaurant on Federal Boulevard, is deservedly popular; even during our between-hours Sunday meal — and with a plywood walkway to navigate due to some construction work out front — the restaurant was almost completely full. With a menu that includes typical meats like chicken and…
The text from Biker Jim simply read: “Tired. Taking a nap.” The sultan of sausages and high-priest of hot dogs had just returned from a food truck show in Las Vegas, where he pimped frankfurters from the kitchen of the very first Biker Jim’s food truck — which, if Jim…
One of the owners of Brauns on Blake plans to open a new brewery next spring that will rely on no-nonsense German-style beers and forty-year-old brewing equipment shipped from a brewery in the world-famous beer region of Bamberg, Germany…
While our waitress had absolutely no idea what “fra diavolo” was, the chef did. But he must have been worried that I couldn’t stomach the sauce — which translates to “Brother Devil” in Italian — because it arrived on its own, in a bowl, on the side. Apparently the majority…
Breckenridge Brewing will break ground this week on a new annex to its facility at 471 Kalamath Street, where it will house six massive 300-barrel fermentation tanks. The first two tanks are scheduled to arrive on December 15; the other four should be here by February or March…
While other joints on Tennyson, such as the Hole, have closed, Hops & Pie is expanding. Drew and Leah Watson’s neighborhood hangout is taking over a space next door, and will more than double in size — as well as offer more food options, including “more appetizers, a few more…
